Angela's 5th Birthday

Like last year, we held Angela's birthday party at school. Few months back, I already told her teacher that we will be shouldering their Christmas party's foods and loot bags. But due to my busy schedule I forgot to follow up on her about the party and was surprised when they collected money na for the foods and everything else. Nahiya tuloy ako kay teacher. Good thing I already ordered cupcakes and cake from Cat of Tazzy Cakes. Forgive me kasi I don't have a decent photo of the cupcakes and cake. I was help-less started that day.

That's the rainbow cupcakes while still in the box.

Here's the birthday girl with her Barbie-themed cake.

Sobrang mabilisan lang lahat kaya hindi ko na naayos yung cake. I wasn't able to taste the cupcake but mom said it was delish. Felow mommies and Angela's teacher asked me where I bought the cake. It was lovely daw. I told them hindi lang mukhang masarap yung cake but talagang masarap sya. Of course, I told them it's from Tazzy Cakes. :)

We have clowns during the party. They were ok. Medyo luma na mga jokes nila pero nag click pa rin naman sila sa mga bagets. 

Here are some of the photos during the party.

That's my lovely daughter all grown up. :)

The next day, her real birthday, I promised her pizza and pasta. I had the pizza delivered from Shakeys and I cooked the spaghetti. 

Yes, that's the same cake. Nakalimutan kong magdala ng knife sa school, so hindi ko sya naishare sa lahat. Hindi ko sinadya yun, promise! Lol! :)

Hindi ko na rin naayos yung presentation ng food kasi gutom na lahat. See the hubby? Nakapwesto na agad. Hehe. We had a simple celebration but I'm sure that Ate had so much fun.

How are you guys?

I know I broke my promise of blogging often now that I can easily do it with the mobile app. You see, I am very busy with the house chores because guess what, my two maids left us again. The younger one went home to the province and she's never coming back. Her reason: she'll be attending her cousin's wedding in January and needs time to prepare. The other one said she's staying but I don't know if it's true. She went home for Christmas and promised to come back yesterday. Until now, no text messages and no calls. I don't think she'll be returning any soon. And besides, I had a very bad experience with her last week so I'm not sure if she's worth keeping. I guess I have to let her go, too. :(

Ok. I'll stop there. I don't want to be sad. 

So how did you spend Christmas? Did you have fun? Well, I spent the Christmas with the whole family. My mom came 3 days before Angela's 5th birthday. And my in-laws arrived on the 24th. It was a happy chaos. Sure it was tiring, but the love and goodness were overflowing at our household! And that's the spirit of Christmas. It's not about the glamour and gifts. It is the season of love, forgiveness and goodness of heart. Having that said, we opted for a simple celebration last Christmas eve. We attended the mass the next day and here are the kids fooling around,

My mom and mom-in-law posed for the camera as well,

That's the Imus Cathedral behind. I don't have any photos of myself, I just realized. :(

Anyways, we went home after and started cooking again. We prepared Bihon Guisado, Pancit Canton and Spaghetti. Bongga ang birthday ni Papa Jesus. :) 

So that's it pansit! Today is the last workday for 2013. Yehey!

Let's welcome the new year with new hope and with a blast! See you around mga mars! :)

Raising a toddler and a pre-schooler...

...is very very challenging!

I seriously have no idea how mommies having 3 kids and more manage to keep their sanity intact. I now have a higher regard to all stay-at-home-moms. I have read a few blogs and articles comparing or if not, questioning how being a jobless mother complains of exhaustion after a day. Thinking it is easy peasy to stay at home and manage a household AND look after the kids. Oh yeah, sounds really fun. But you have no idea how tough it is!

Oh, I have equal respect for working mothers. Although most of us have someone to look after the kids those time that we are at work, it doesn't make us less of a mother. The responsibilities and issues are all the same. Nothing less.

I have mixed emotions now that I have two kids. I am (most of the time) elated by their innocence. Their warm embraces immediately erase my worries. Their wet kisses here and there warm my aching body. Their laughter sets my mood. And the list goes on and on....

But along these happy moments, there are also tough times. There are endless running, shouting and whining. The whole house could be a complete mess in seconds. Toys are scattered everywhere. And then there's sibling rivalry and jealousy. This is difficult. My two daughters get along pretty well early this year. Angela didn't show any signs of jealousy until the past few months. I don't know how I wasn't able to notice it early on. Would I have prevented it if I've known earlier? I'm not sure. But I am certain that the love and attention we're showing them are equal. But I guess sibling rivalry is normal. Besides, their issues are pretty petty at this point. I just have to guide them along the way and be more attentive this time. I don't want them hating each other at the end.

Let's see if I'm doing right on raising my kids;

1. I try to spend equal-alone-time with the two kiddos. Just so I can show to Ate that I love them both equally. This has been her issue all along.

2. I say NO to both of them. Although their needs at this point are very different, when it comes to playing and other stuff, when it's "NO" to Ate, it's also a "NO" to the Little Girl.

3. When I play with the Little Girl or Ate, the hubby plays with the other one. So that no one will ever feel jealous of not getting attention.

4. Sunday is Family Day. It doesn't necessarily mean that we need to go to the mall or eat out. Sometimes cuddling in our pajamas the whole day is more fun for the kids. Or it could be watching their favorite movie over and over again.

These are just a few of what I've been extra conscious about lately. Motherhood is a continuous learning process. That is certain. No one could ever be perfect in this field.

Anyhoo, I'm crossing my fingers praying that I'll be a good mom to my kids. Good luck to us mommies! =)

Merry Christmas!!

From my family to yours, a Blessed Christmas everyone! :)

Rest day Sunday

I am totally useless today. Normally, Sundays are spent cleaning the bedroom and the closet. But today, I spent the whole day lying in bed. I actually started feeling a little off while we were on the mall yesterday, but since I didn't want to dampen everybody else's mood, I tried to manage the headache. I also noticed small red rashes on most part of my body since Friday. Luckily, it didn't worsen. 

Today is different though. I woke up feeling normal despite the throbbing head. Until we came back from the church, my left eye suddenly became blurred. I can't explain how it happened. The next thing I know, I can't read a single word because everything seems to be floating and moving. Initially, I felt scared and paranoid. But after googling it, I somehow felt relieved. This could be just the migraine or the astigmatism I've long been suffering. Well, that's what I wanted to believe. I don't want to be so negative about this headache and blurry vision, just like what the homily is today. There's nothing to fear because I have a big God up there. I'm keeping my faith up and above all these pain I feel right now. :)

To end this post on a happy note, I will soon be posting the new experience I had in the hubby's province when we went there to celebrate his 30th. Oh, he reminded me last night about it. 

R: Nai-blog mo na ba yung birthday ko?

Me: Naku, hindi pa!

R: I-blog mo na.

I guess I have a secret follower. He denies until now that he reads my blog. Hehe.

Saturdate with Fambam + An early Christmas gift from the hubby

We just got home from the mall and the kids are now asleep beside me. Two things, I can blog and I can sleep early tonight. Yehey!

Since the trip to the mall was really unplanned, super duper napagod ako. If I have known na magmamall kami, sinama ko sana yung yaya ng mga bagets. I know you, mommies, will agree with me. Ibang level ng kapaguran ang pagmamall with kiddos in tow. Di ba? I was whining to hubby after 4 hours of carrying and running after my two kids. As in nakasimangot na ako sa pagod. Buti na lang hindi ako pinatulan ng lolo mo. Hihi.

While we were there, we also got the chance to see Hello Kitty. She has a meet and greet scheduled today, lucky us!

The kids were so happy to see Hello Kitty! Pati ako tuwang tuwa! Hehe. 

Maliban kay Hello Kitty, did you know that there's a Christmas Sale in SM MOA? I guess most of the malls are. Pero nagulat lang ako kanina kasi yung sale ng SM MOA eh nasa SMX Convention Center. Bongga di ba? No, we didn't go there. I know, sayang. Di bale, may next week pa naman. For sure until Christmas na ang mga sale na yan. Plus, we had an early Christmas shopping two weeks ago. 

How about you mga mare, ready na ba ang mga gifts? Hubby bought us our gift kanina, reward namin for ourselves this year. He bought a new TV for our bedroom. Yehey! The old TV will be transferred in the kids room. His cousin is staying there now. As I type this post, our new Smart TV is running in the background, no, not that we are excited. Lol!

One more thing, I think I will be mobile blogging more often now. The hubby gifted me with iPhone 5s. I know, right? He's the most awesome hubby in the whole wide world. ;)

That's all for now folks! See you MORE often!